Not all hard rock 'guitar heroes' that emerged during the late '80s-early '90s were instrumental solo artists, as evidenced
byDreamTheater's John Petrucci. Born on July 12, 1967, and raised in Kings Park (a town located in the suburb of Long
Island,New York), Petruccigot serious about guitar at the age of 12, and developed a liking for prog rock and heavy metal
(Rush,Iron Maiden, Yes, and later, Metallicaand Queensrÿche). But it was the technically demanding guitarists, like
YngwieMalmsteen, Allan Holdsworth, and especially, Steve Morse,who inspired Petrucci the most. Enrolling at Boston' ...read more

Not all hard rock 'guitar heroes' that emerged during the late '80s-early '90s were instrumental solo artists, as evidenced
byDreamTheater's John Petrucci. Born on July 12, 1967, and raised in Kings Park (a town located in the suburb of Long
Island,New York), Petruccigot serious about guitar at the age of 12, and developed a liking for prog rock and heavy metal
(Rush,Iron Maiden, Yes, and later, Metallicaand Queensrÿche). But it was the technically demanding guitarists, like
YngwieMalmsteen, Allan Holdsworth, and especially, Steve Morse,who inspired Petrucci the most. Enrolling at Boston's
BerkleeCollege of Music, Petrucci befriended such fellow classmates as bassist JohnMyung and drummer Mike Portnoy, who
wouldserve as the core for what would eventually be known as Dream Theater. Enlisting keyboardistKevin Moore and singer
ChrisCollins, the quintet began playing and recording under the name of "Majesty", until they realized another groupowned
therights to the name. Hence, by the late '80s, "Majesty" had changed their name to Dream Theater, and Collins was
replacedbyCharlie Dominici. The Dominici-led version of Dream Theater lasted for a single album, 1989's When Dream and Day
Unite,before his exitearly in the new decade. Despite building a sizeable following in the New York area, Petrucci and his
bandmateswere little known elsewhere,but this all changed with the arrival of new singer James LaBrie, and their sophomore
effort,1992's Images and Words. Despite a changingof tastes with most rock music fans (towards the sounds of Seattle), the
albumproved to be a breakthrough commercial success (as thesong "Pull Me Under" became a surprise hit on both MTV and
rockradio). Arguably, nobody in Dream Theater benefited the most from thesudden wave of success than Petrucci, who
wasinstantly recognized as one of the most technically accomplished guitarists in all of hardrock -- winning polls in
guitarpublications the world over, as well as being mentioned in the same breath as such six string wiz's as SteveVai and
JoeSatriani. Like Vai and Satriani (who also hailed from Long Island, as well), Petrucci became affiliated with the
Ibanezguitarcompany (even lending his name to his own signature series), before switching to the Ernie Ball company later
on, andonce more, launchinghis own signature series. Dream Theater continued to issue albums on a regular basis throughout
the'90s and into the early 21st century -- retaining a large and loyal fan base even after MTV/radio stopped playing them.
Inaddition to his Dream Theater duties, Petrucci hasplayed with a variety of other projects (all in the prog metal
mold),including Explorer's Club, Liquid Tension Experiment (which also includedPortnoy, bass master Tony Levin, and eventual
DreamTheater keyboardist Jordan Rudess), as well as supplying music to the Sega Saturnvideo game called Necronomicon.
2000saw the release of a collaboration between Petrucci and Rudess, An Evening With John Petrucci andJordan Rudess,
whilePetrucci joined forces with Vai and Satriani on tour as part of their annual G3 tour during the summer of 2001. « hide